In Wednesday's last round, Argentina was held to a goalless tie with the Netherlands to top the group with seven points. The Dutch team, who collected the same points, finished second on goal difference.

African debutants Cote d'Ivoire, who lost 2-1 to both Argentina and the Netherlands, edged Serbia and Montenegro 3-2 to place third.

There was a common fact in all the three matches that the African team started to score only after conceding two goals. They showed great personal skills and attacking power in their World Cup tour but their weak defense cost them dear.

Serbia and Montenegro, who conceded only one goal in 10 qualifiers on their way to World Cup finals in Germany, were beaten by the Netherlands 1-0, Argentina 6-0 and Cote d'Ivoire 3-2.

Their solid defense in the qualifiers shone only in their first Group C match against the Dutchmen and was totally unraveled in the next two games.

Both Cote d'Ivoire and Serbian and Montenegro failed to spring surprises, upsetting fans who expected them to at least create troubles for hot favorites Argentina and the Netherlands.

Before coming to Germany, Argentina may think they were cursed. In 2002, they drew with England, Sweden and Nigeria in the first round. Despite the status of being favorites, they then failed to emerge from the group. In the do-or-die match against Sweden, the Argentines created a large number of scoring chances but they just couldn't convert them.

But bad luck has gone. Argentina, when at their best, play as entertaining a game of football as anyone in the world. Juan Roman Riquelme, who missed last World Cup finals, is definitely the key playmaker this time. His superb ball control and positional awareness make him devilishly hard to mark.

Besides Riquelme, every player of the star-studded Argentine side is the key member of his club. If Juan Riquelme, Juan Pablo Sorin, Lucho Gonzalez, Hernan Crespo and Roberto Ayala are playing as one, Argentina will be nearly impossible to beat.

And the prediction has turned into reality.

Their midfield game is truly a thing of beauty. Riquelme is one of the premier playmakers in the world and Sorin's superior passing and ball-control make it very hard for anyone to get anything going against the Argentines.

Youngster Lionel Messi of Barcelona is a player many have their eyes on and Argentine coach Jose Pekerman expects great things from him. Some even view Messi as the new Maradona.

However, Messi was not fielded in the Cote d'Ivoire game for injury. He ran onto the pitch in Serbia and Montenegro match in the last minutes. But that short period of time was enough for him to score. Messi will be the new driving force for Argentina in their knockout stage.

In preparation for the World Cup, Argentine forward Crespo from Chelsea said, "I don't think we carry any burden from the failure last time. We've got another difficult group but we've got necessary experience to deal with it."

"The most important thing is that we must focus from the very first game," he added.

Crespo did not breach his words and Argentina cruised to the last 16 as the winner of the Group of Death.

The Dutch, imperious in qualification, have made a successful return to the World Cup finals after an eight-year absence. They almost comfortably got through a tough qualifying group that included the Czech Republic and Romania.

Marco van Basten's side kept the momentum in the group, booking a berth for next stage before meeting Argentina.

Despite absorbing a group of young players, the Dutch team showed their great organization and patience on the World Cup pitches, especially in the most eye-catching duel with Argentina.

Coming are the do-or-die matches. In the last 16, Argentina face Mexico, while the Netherlands meet Portugal.